At a time when the country is going to elect in a new government in the midst of a reviving global economy, AM Naik, the executive chairman of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and the chairman of Board of Governors at Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Saturday felt the need for a "new and powerful India" to emerge after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

"On the domestic front, with elections round the corner, we are going through the periodic churn that all democracies around the world go through. In our case, the upheaval that we experience may be a little more pronounced that elsewhere, but essentially this is part of the baggage of our system. This is the price we pay for something very precious --- our freedom and democracy," Naik, said in his address at the 49th annual convocation of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

"We can only hope that when the dust settles, we have a stable central authority which can deliver responsible governance. Who constitutes that government is not important, it is what they do that matters. We want a new powerful India to emerge," he told an audience that had assembled to see 524 students graduate from post-graduate and fellow programmes at IIM-A

"The challenge are unlimited for the new government. I am sure that time can only improve and challenges will be solved with passage of time. Most people think that the next government will be strong," he later told mediapersons.

Naik in his convocation speech also pointed out certain important global indicators. "The global economy has started showing signs of improvement. The latest indicators for the world economy suggest that after several years of extreme weakness, high-income economies appear to be finally turning the corner, contributing to a projected acceleration in global growth from 2.4 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent this year. It is further expected to increase to 3.4 percent in 2015, and 3.5 percent in 2016," he added.

Talking about the "changes" being brought about at IIM-A, Naik said, "Here at IIM-A too, we are seeking to ride the wave of change... To take the school to next level and be acknowledged as a top ranked international institution, it was felt that a new leadership was essential. IIMA Board has been, critically identifying shortcomings and developing solutions along with my colleagues on the Board of Governors. With this thought process, we brought Professor Ashish Nanda as our director."

Meanwhile, Anand Mahindra, CMD of Mahindra & Mahindra who was a chief guest at the function said, "I truly believe we are at the threshold of an age of entrepreneurship in India. He pointed out that there has been a "dramatic rise" in the number of young people who have earned a good technical or business education.

"Since 2007, Indians have founded 8 percent of all technology and engineering startups in the US and 14 percent of all Silicon Valley companies... It's time to bring the show back home," Mahindra told the graduating students.